Brazilian elections: Rousseff takes the lead in latest voter poll

A new poll published on Thursday by Datafolha shows Dilma Rousseff may win the race for the Brazilian presidency against Aécio Neves, with the second round of voting due on Sunday.

The Brazilian polling company said Rousseff is slightly ahead of Neves, at 53% against 47%, with a margin of error of two percentage points.

However, the result of the vote is still up for grabs, as Rousseff’s four years in office resulted in little economic growth, high inflation. Her candidacy has also been besmirched by a corruption scandal at state oil company Petrobras.

One executive at an international bank in Sao Paulo told the Financial Times he did not know of a single person in the market who will vote to re-elect Rousseff this Sunday.

“The government has tentacles all over the economy [which can] make life very difficult,” he said. Hence his preference to remain anonymous.

Dilma Rousseff’s presidency was marked by the “worst crisis in 80 years” in the global economy, according to finance minister Guido Manteiga speaking to Globo TV.

The Bovespa stock market index closed on Thursday at its weakest level since 2005 after the release of the poll results.

The possibility of Neves winning the elections had boosted Brazilian equities, as the candidate has promised business-friendly policies if elected.

"The market doesn't know where to aim at in these final days before the elections," Glauber Romano, a currency trader, told Reuters.

Capital Economics said Brazilian equities surged by 9% at the start of the month after the “unexpectedly strong results” for Neves in the first round bringing “fresh hopes of a change in government and a much-needed shift in economic policy”.

According to the analysts, a victory for Rousseff would mean “more of the same”, while Neves as the new Brazilian president would bring “brighter” protects of reforms.